Geography A land of lakes and forests, and home of the Vikings, Sweden is the biggest country in Scandinavia. It attracts around 6 million visitors a year. Roughly three times the size of Britain, its population is just 8.8 million. A relatively recent member of the EU, Sweden has yet to commit to the Euro. […] Read more

I had never really considered Sweden as a holiday destination. I mean there have been some pretty compelling reasons for going; Ace of Base, ABBA, Roxette, saunas and certain erotic movies, but I had always been put off by the cost and the fact that no one seems to be going there. However, a few […] Read more

On Anna-Christine’s recommendation, I spent Saturday evening at Stampen, a jazz club in Gamla Stan. The club was built like a rabbit warren on two floors of an 18th century building. It had two stages, one on each floor. The upstairs band played real I-know-jazz kind of jazz, while the downstairs bar had a dance […] Read more

Before leaving for Scandinavia, I tried to gauge opinion on Sweden by asking some friends to name a few things Swedish. I quote verbatim: Blondes, au pairs, blonde au pairs, ABBA, Ikea and Volvos. (Please note: This survey was carried out prior to the appointment of whatshisname, the England football manager.) Having been to Stockholm […] Read more